Single acting snap ring guide

Abstract

A guide assembly comprises a grooved mandrel having a first end adapted for coupling or connecting, a second end, and having a spiral groove and a set of ring grooves on an external surface of the grooved mandrel. The guide assembly comprises a guide shoe concentric to at least the second end of the grooved mandrel and an annular fastener that fastens the guide shoe to the grooved mandrel.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A guide assembly comprising:
 a grooved mandrel having a first end adapted for coupling or connecting, a second end, and having a spiral groove and a set of ring grooves on an external surface of the grooved mandrel; 
 a guide shoe concentric to at least the second end of the grooved mandrel, the guide shoe including an internal undercut and one or more lugs, the lugs adapted to ride in the spiral groove to allow the guide shoe to rotate about the grooved mandrel; and 
 an annular fastener that resides within the internal undercut of the guide shoe and within one of the ring grooves of the grooved mandrel, the annular fastener preventing the guide shoe from rotating along the spiral grove while the annular fastener remains in the ring groove of the guide shoe and in one of the ring grooves of the grooved mandrel. 
 
     
     
       2. The guide assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the guide shoe comprises a tapered bottom portion. 
     
     
       3. The guide assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the annular fastener comprises an elastically deformable annular fastener. 
     
     
       4. The guide assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the internal undercut is adapted to accommodate the elastically deformable annular fastener. 
     
     
       5. The guide assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the set of ring grooves is substantially orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of the grooved mandrel. 
     
     
       6. The guide assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least a first ring groove of the set of ring grooves comprises a first edge adapted to allow the annular fastener to move out of the first ring groove, the first edge being towards the first end of the grooved mandrel. 
     
     
       7. The guide assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the first ring groove comprises a second edge adapted to prevent the annular fastener from exiting the first ring groove towards the second end of the grooved mandrel. 
     
     
       8. The guide assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the guide shoe is springless. 
     
     
       9. The guide assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least a first ring groove of the set of ring grooves comprises a first edge adapted to allow the elastically deformed annular fastener to move out of the first ring groove, the first edge being towards the first end of the grooved mandrel. 
     
     
       10. The guide assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more lugs are configured to rotate the guide shoe around the spiral groove as the elastically deformed annular fastener moves out of the first ring groove. 
     
     
       11. The guide assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more lugs are configured to rotate the guide shoe around the spiral groove as the elastically deformed annular fastener moves out of the first ring groove and to continue rotating the guide shoe around the spiral groove until the elastically deformed annular fastener enters a second one of the ring grooves.